Dreamweaver Templates

Using Templates

Now that we know what templates are, we'll talk about how to actually use them in your site.

Prerequisites:

You understand the concepts regarding, and have set up a Dreamweaver Site

Creating a New Page from a Template

In dreamweaver, go to File > New... A window will appear. In the top center of the window are two tabs, "General" and "Templates". Select Templates.

The window will show the various Dreamweaver Sites you've set up on the left side. Select the dreamweaver site you want this new page to be a part of. Then, in the middle column will appear a list of available templates in this dreamweaver site. Select the template you want to use. Select Create.

A new untitled HTML page appears. Save it, placing it inside your dreamweaver site.

You've now created a new page from a template.

Applying new Templates to a Page

If your HTML page is already using a Dreamweaver Template, and you'd like to change which template it uses, that can be done as well.

Open the HTML page that you want to change. From the top menu, select Modify > Templates > Apply Template to Page.

If the editable regions in the different templates are named the same, for example, they both have regions named "content" and "title", then the page will change instantly.

However, if the new template has different names for editable regions, or if the old template has more editable regions than the new template, you'll be prompted with a window asking where to put things.

It will say "Not Resolved" and give you a list of the regions that aren't matching up. You'll need to click on each unresolved editable region, and choose where you want that content to go. If you just want the unresolved content to be deleted, select "nowhere".

Detaching a Page from a Template

While we encourage the use of dreamweaver templates, there are always cases where templates aren't the best way to go. To detach an HTML page from a Dreamweaver Template, choose from the top menu Modify > Templates > Detach From Template